


No Pieces Missing.

by ceisadilla



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Domestic, Established Relationship, F/M, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-09
Packaged: 2017-12-07 22:43:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/753916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceisadilla/pseuds/ceisadilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots regarding the relationship between Natalia Arlovskaya and Roderich Edelstein.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's a Piece of Cake to Bake a Pretty Cake

Natalia's nimble fingers worked her white ribbon into a bow, tying her long hair back. "Could you set up the scales?" Roderich requested, as he searched through a cupboard for almonds. He couldn't see the nod she gave in response, but he could hear her turning the brass bowl around the correct way on the old measuring scales.   
"I had assumed you would have electronic scales, considering how often you bake. It seems quicker," Natalia mused. The cupboard closed, and Roderich put the bag of ground almonds on the kitchen counter.  
"I prefer the manual scales. It makes the baking more interesting." She gave another nod, looking at all the ingredients laid across the counter. Baking had never really been a hobby of Natalia's but Roderich's cakes were so good, she had to try making them for herself.  
"So, where do we start?" She asked.  
~  
Dry ingredients sounded like it was going to be the clean part. At least, the not messy part. Eggs were gooey, milk could splatter, water had a lot of spilling potential, but no. Natalia had found that dry ingredients were the messy part. The flour had inexplicably managed to coat her hands, and the navy tank-top she was wearing. The tub of cocoa powder was more difficult to open than assumed. After a few frustrated attempted, and a denied offer of help from Roderich, she had managed to tear the lid off. Not, of course, without incident. A tiny cloud of powder burst out, adding to the mess on her clothes, which had now spread to her skirt. Roderich lightly cleared his throat, and she glanced up at him. "Don't laugh," Natalia pouted, which only broadened his smile.  
"I'm not laughing," he assured her, straightening his face. "It's a messy job." She rolled her eyes.  
"I doubt you get into this much of a mess, Mr Meticulous," she smirked in a teasing tone. Roderich briefly chuckled, and shook his head.  
"You'd be surprised."  
~  
The cake was done, and cooling on the rack. To Natalia's joy, Roderich seemed happy with it, and now, she just had the icing to go. Brief instructions were given, and she got to work, mixing butter with icing sugar and cocoa powder while Roderich loaded the dish washer.   
"How's this?" She asked him, presenting the bowl of icing to him. He looked at the icing, took the bowl and whisk from her, and began to mix it rapidly. A few flecks of icing sprayed out, one landing on Natalia's cheek, to her surprise. Roderich put the bowl down, and gave her an apologetic look. Before he could say sorry, she wiped it off with her index finger, and licked it off, humming her approval. "It's great. Try some." She stuck her finger into the bowl, and smeared a little icing onto his cheek. His dark eyebrows raised, and he wiped it with his thumb, tasting it. "You're right. It's a good first attempt. Are you going to decorate it, or waste more icing?"  
"Hm, both," Natalia decided, putting a dot of icing on the tip of his nose. With a treasured smile, she used the rest of the icing to decorate the cake.  
~  
They sat on the sofa that evening, Roderich's words of praise for her baking ringing proudly in her ears. Natalia sat cross legged with her back to Roderich as he pleated her platinum hair. "Roderich?"   
"Yes, dear?" He asked, carefully tying the white ribbon to secure the long pleat. Another smile, and she leaned back, resting against his chest, her azure eyes meeting his.   
"Teach me to play piano tomorrow?" Roderich pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.   
"Certainly."


	2. Winter Blossoms

She looked good in dark colours. Deep blue, slate grey, pitch black, all a gorgeous contrast to the porcelain white of her face, and the pale blonde of her silken hair. The air was crisp, the fresh, evening snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked hand in hand through the streets of Vienna. A large, black, cast iron gate hung open, and stopped Natalia in her tracks. "Is that a park?" Roderich looked to the open gate, and gave a brief nod.  
"It is. One of the largest in Vienna." A couple with a child past them, and went into the park.  
"It's open awfully late." Natalia watched the family following the path into the park.   
"Ah, there's a Christmas Fair held in the middle of the park, it's qui-"  
"Can we go?"  
Natalia was usually a rather stern, serious person. Roderich never thought he would see those periwinkle eyes fixed upon him with so much excitement, and child-like wonder. Roderich was also a stern, serious person, and he could feel his heart melting.  
"Of course we can, dear." Her hold on his hand tightened, and a bright smile graced her lips.  
~  
The path was lined with alpine flowers and shrubs, not that Natalia noticed. Roderich watched with amusement as the short woman tried to crane her neck up to see any sign of the fair.   
"How big is this park?" She asked, the quiet huff of impatience making a light cloud in the cold air.  
"Quite big. We're close to the centre now, I promise." The air was permeated with the sweet smells of chocolate, and roasted hazelnuts. Before very long, they had reached the fair. Multiple stalls, and huge crowds, and one thing that interested Natalia more than the baked goods, the warm drinks, and the homemade chocolates. And the one thing that Roderich hoped she wouldn't care for.  
"Is that an ice rink?" She stood on tiptoes, the crowds blocking her view.  
"Yes," Roderich answered with a grimace. "It is. It's a shame that we didn't bring ice skates." The way she sank back down, shoulders slumping, almost broke his heart.   
"You don't need your own skates," called a nearby man. "You can rent them." Natalia didn't even ask this time. She pulled Roderich to the ice rink, weaving between people effortlessly. Roderich rented a pair of skates for her, which she held in her hands, looking at them for a moment before frowning at him in confusion.  
"Where are yours?" She asked. "You need skates to go on the ice." He cleared his throat a little, looking to the side briefly.   
"I... I don't really skate," he excused. Natalia shook her head, the blue beret threatening to fall off.  
"You do tonight."  
Natalia was no more than 5 feet and three inches, and her figure was a slim one, but her face could turn from angelic to severe in a flash. She rented his skates, and thrust them into his hands. Roderich had never been so thankful for blade guards. 

They changed their shoes, and Natalia was on the ice as quickly as she could be. She managed a lap of the rink in the time Roderich took to ease himself onto the ice, though much of that time was spent admiring how elegantly she glided across the ice. Even as she ground to a halt next to him, each movement held the grace of a professional. Her cheeks were rosy where the cold air had nipped her, but the smile she wore was gleaming. A far cry from the sharp glare that had put him on the ice in the first place. "What's wrong? Can't you skate?" Natalia teased.  
"Not really," Roderich mumbled. Her thin brows arched in shock.  
"Well, we have to fix that! Show me what you can do." She shuffled herself back a little, and fixed her eyes upon him expectantly. Roderich looked around the rink hesitantly. So many people... He let go of the railing, and moved a foot forward, though he was quite shaky. The other foot followed, and then the first again. Left, right, left, right, this wasn't so difficult, left, right, and then he landed on his back. He heard her call his name, and she was there in a mere moment, helping him back to his feet. "Are you hurt?" Worry was strong in her voice, and evident in her eyes, though it washed away with relief when he shook his head. "It's not as hard as it seems. I'll teach you."  
Natalia stood by him, and took his hand again. "Now. Just copy me, inch for inch." They went slowly, but he watched her, and he copied. The slight movements of her legs, her posture, everything. Natalia noticed, and she smiled approvingly, shifting so she was in front of him, facing him, skating backwards with both her hands in his. "See? You're getting it," she declared triumphantly.  
"I am," Roderich responded, with pride in his voice. A question rose to mind. "Natalia? Are you a trained ice skater?" The shake of her head surprised him, but not as much as the full response.  
"I skated a little with my siblings as a child, when the lake froze. Skating comes easily when you're trained in ballet and gymnastics." The wide, violet eyes drew a giggle from Natalia. "The slow feed of information is fun, isn't it?"  
~  
Roderich managed to make a lap of the rink without falling - after several failed attempts - and Natalia thought that was good enough for a first try. Hand in hand, they walked back to the gates they had entered from, each sipping a paper cup of hot chocolate; peppermint for Natalia, vanilla for Roderich.  
"I've got an idea," Natalia chirped up.  
"Hm?" The questioning sound was given through a mouthful of hot chocolate.  
"We should compete in figure skating competitions."  
Roderich choking on his chocolate was enough to keep her laughing until they reached home.


End file.
